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I posted a link to the petition against a move to Stratford, and I’m surprised to read that there are some fans who have no problem with this mental idea.

Everyone is of course entitled to their opinion. I know that people have their own personal reasons for choosing to support a club, and it’s for not for me to tell them what should be important to them, but speaking from a personal point of view, here’s why I’d want no part of a THFC based in east London.

To start with, it always tickles me when people claim that “history” and “emotion” are stupid, unimportant arguments when it comes to football, and try to act as if fans should look at everything from a business point of view. There is nothing about being a football fan that makes business sense. There’s not even anything very logical about it. You go and watch eleven blokes you’ve never met kicking a ball around, and the result matters a lot to you. You spunk away your time and money in the process. That’s not sensible. The only thing that makes it meaningful is your emotional attachment to the club. The history is the whole point. It’s not just eleven men, it’s eleven men representing something important to you. And for me, a big part of what’s important about Spurs is that they represent north London, the specific part of the world that I come from.

Someone left a comment that I found absolutely bizarre. They said “Stop supporting Spurs if north London means so much to you.” You might as well say “stop supporting England if England means so much to you.” THFC is north London – the whole identity of the club is wrapped up in the area. If north London doesn’t mean anything to you, I have to ask why you’re supporting Spurs in the first place. Aren’t we always critical of all those Surrey Man United fans, supporting a team from a city they have no affinity with? We sing about being the pride of north London. We’re named after Harry Hotspur because his family owned the area which is now Tottenham Marshes. The most important game of our season is the north London derby (which we play against a team who we hate mainly because they moved across London to steal another team’s fans – er…) For decades we’ve competed against Arsenal for north London bragging rights, and now you’d be happy to just vacate the area and leave them to it for an increased capacity and an easier tube journey? I can’t understand that at all. If it costs us an extra 200 million, so be it…even if it bankrupts us, I’d rather stay in Tottenham because in my eyes if we moved to Stratford the club as I know it would cease to exist anyway. I’ve barely ever been to Stratford, except passing through on the Central Line. I don’t feel at home there. I don’t know anything about it. If I did, I’d probably support Leyton Orient.

I understand that lots of our fans are from Essex and Herts, and all over the world (although surely a lot of the fans who no longer live in north London support Spurs because their family were originally from there) and that maybe for them the area is not as significant as players past, the culture of good football, the glory, glory nights and all that. But you could go to Barcelona on holiday and see those things. Surely what’s special about the great Tottenham teams is that they did it not just anywhere, but on the High Road in Tottenham. Players change, so do managers, so do styles of play and levels of success. But the geography doesn’t, and what else is there apart from the name and colour of the kit that makes the Spurs of today the Spurs of 50 years ago?

Then there’s the people and businesses in the area that depend on the club. The Two Brewers, The Bell and Hare, all your favourite pre-game pubs and restaurants – I doubt any of them would survive Spurs leaving. All the kids who work in the club shop, and benefit from the club’s community work – it would all end, and Haringey is one of the most deprived boroughs in London. Whatever you think about the council, it’s not the fault of the local people. Stratford will be fine, they’re getting West Ham anyway.

On top of all this, I think there are practical reasons against the move too. We’re told that the plan would be to demolish the Olympic Stadium, months after its completion, and build a whole new one in its place. This just sounds to me like a totally ridiculous idea that I can’t believe the IOC would even entertain. And there’s no way that I’d want to play in the soulless bowl that is the current Olympic Stadium – the atmosphere would be terrible. West Ham are happy to take the stadium as it is, and I say we let them get on with it.

If you don’t agree, don’t sign the petition. You don’t have to sign anything you don’t want to, that’s why it’s fun to live here and not in Burma. If you do agree, sign it and make your feelings known. Let’s hope that, as some of you have said, the whole thing is just a ploy to put pressure on and get the Northumberland Park deal through.

Jermaine Defoe has returned to full training for Tottenham in a bid to be fit for the match against Arsenal in the first North London derby of the season.

Defoe has been out of action since the start of the season after picking up an injury on England duty. Spurs have missed him up front but the Spurs man isn’t far from a return. Having started light ball work last week he has now taken part in training today.

Welcome Back JD

Defoe desperately wants to be able to take part in the Arsenal game and early reports are that he might get a place on the bench. Defoe is also looking forward to playing in the Champions League with Tottenham.

Some of you won’t like what I am about to say but personally I don’t want him involved on Saturday, at the very most I would give him 15 mins at the end if we need a goal but no more than that. He won’t be the sharp Defoe we all know, he will be slow and rusty and in no way shape or form will he be anywhere near match fitness. I would stick with Pav and only in desperate need of a goal in the last 15 mins should he even contemplate using Defoe. My worry is Spurs players rushing back for the big games and doing their selves more damage in the long-term.

On another note, Michael Dawson is apparently only a couple of weeks from a return and Aaron Lennon could be fit to face the scum on Saturday. Could things finally be looking up?

It’s almost upon us, the one we have all been waiting for, Inter Milan at home. After turning an almost embarrassing night into a result that filled us with pride in Milan 2 weeks ago we now have the chance to turn things in our favour.

Tottenham Team News

Heurelho Gomes is suspended following his dismissal in the San Siro and is the most obvious absentee for tonight’s Champions League thriller. Tom Huddlestone is back in contention for a starting place in the Spurs lineup. Rafael Van der Vaart will undergo a late fitness test but is expected to play some part, whether he starts or not is up to Harry. Defoe, King, Woodgate and Michael Dawson are all still missing

Inter Milan Team News

Striker Diego Milito who missed the match at the San Siro has recovered from a thigh strain. Goalkeeper Julio Cesar and midfielders Esteban Cambiasso and Thiago Motta are all out injured.

My only concern here is that Van der Vaart is so desperate to play, he will tell Harry he is fine and pull his hamstring tonight. Time will tell but that is my only concern.

A confident Tottenham are capable of turning Inter over, I expect Gareth Bale to be doubled up on but that could give Aaron Lennon more space on the right.

So what do you think, can we do itand what would your starting lineup be?

To watch the match live login to the forum where streams will be provided.

To watch this match live click the forum link at the bottom of the article and log in or sign up.

Firstly sorry for the confusion, someone was pulling my plonker by telling me Bale wasn’t playing which made me angry.

The Tottenham team is somewhat as expected, Gomes starts in goal, Hutton keeps his place at right back, Kaboul and Gallas pair up in central defence with BAE on the left. Lennon starts on the right wing with Bale on the left, Modric and Jenas are in the middle with Rafael Van der Vaart just in front and a surprise inclusion up front as Robbie Keane plays the loan striker.

As always you can watch this in the forum, click the link at the bottom of the article and log in.

Wouldn’t a win at Old Trafford please us all in this weekend’s big match, It’s a fixture that usually means misery for Spurs, I don’t think we have ever won at Old Trafford in the Premiership but now is as good of a time as any with United not really hitting top gear yet this season and the gap between the two teams seemingly closing.

Spurs boast one of the richest midfields in the Premiership with Redknapp having talent at his disposal which Sir Alex would like to get his hands on. Although United are still a strong side they are not as daunting to play against as the Champions League winning side a few years back which included Christiano Ronaldo.

Team News

Man Utd

Sir Alex is likely to stick with Hernandex in attack after his double last weekend away to Stoke which impressed the United boss and will ensure the Mexican keeps his place in the starting XI. Berbatov will be the obvious choice to partner Hernandez in attack, facing his former side.

Ryan Giggs is still out with a hamstring injury and the mean that has made all the headlines Wayne Rooney is still out with an Ankle injury which will see Spurs fancy their chances.

Spurs

Ledley King is improving after suffering a groin injury and may make a return soon although it won’t be for this one. Gallas and Kaboul started the last fixture and may do so again tomorrow although Bassong could be in the running for a place.

Wilson Palacios may start in midfield as Tom Huddlestone has failed to shake of his injury although he may make a return for the Inter Milan game on Tuesday night in the Champions League. Rafael Van der Vaart will start and will probably play the role of supporting the front man, whether that be Crouch of Pav we will have to wait and see.

If Spurs had a fully fit side I would be confident we can do something tomorrow, although still hopeful our injury list might mean that this proves one test too much for us although I hope I am wrong.

It’s a major double boost for Spurs, Michael Dawson and Jermain Defoe are expected to be back in action for Tottenham next months after both being out since being injured on England duty early on in the season.

Michael Dawson was initially ruled out for between 6-8 weeks and that is roughly the time it has taken for him to recover from his ligament damage to his left knee so far. Defoe however was not expected to play again before Christmas but the striker has said of his progress and is targeting a return in November against Arsenal.

While Defoe’s recovery period has gone better than expected Michael Dawson although expects to be back in training next months may not be available until nearer the end of the month or even December if his recovery doesn’t go to plan. Recovering from ligament damage is never straight forward and it is hard to judge exactly how long it can keep a player sidelined and we all saw Dawson’s injury for England and we knew straight away it was never going to be anything other than a lengthy lay off.

It will be a major boost for Harry to have both players back in action, Spurs have done well to maintain a top four push whilst struggling to cope with an injury crisis up front and at the back, Spurs have used more centre back partnering than anyone else this season, even Tom Huddlestone has had a go at it. So with both players still a while off a return there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Now some of you might agree with what I am about to say and some of you probably won’t but as always I would like to hear your comments below.

Last season Aaron Lennon was nothing short of amazing for us, teams were having to double up on him in an attempt to keep him quiet. All was going well until his injury which kept him out for a few months. Since coming back towards the end of last season he has not been the same player. He had a poor World Cup and still hasn’t been as good as he was last season for us.

Lennon seems to be lacking confidence in taking on players, something that used to come to him naturally but this season he seems to be looking for the simple pass. I have heard some fans say that at the moment Lennon is cheating in the Tottenham team and not pulling his weight, he only seems to be interested if he has the ball at his feet. It is a mixture of these things which has seen Redknapp drop him to the bench in recent weeks, a player that was once a dead cert to start now has genuine concerns of being left on the bench.

There is one thing that has come out of this and I would love to hear if anyone else has noticed this or if it’s just me being deluded. I have noticed that his crossing seems to have improved, maybe because he is not running at pace so much which means he has more control over his crosses. He has put in a few lovely crosses for Crouch recently and put in an absolute peach the other day. Also his crossing with his left foot seems to have improved no ends as well, he seems unfazed on whether the ball is on his right or left.

So a few negatives and a positive in my book, but for me I want Lennon to be the player he was for most of last season, because now we have Bale on the left if Lennon could rediscover his true form then teams would really fear us.

Harry has finally spoken out to the media, he told the Sky Sports reporters that he feels we do need a few additions to the current squad. Speaking earlier Harry was quoted as saying:

“We need two or three players who can make the difference,” said Redknapp.

“We’ve got a big squad, but I do feel we need just that little bit of quality in one or two areas if we’re going to move on from where we were last year.”

“We did great last year, but we just need to push on and maintain that,” he added. “We want to win the championship. It’s not impossible.

“Fourth place last year was marvellous, but I think this is the best chance Tottenham have had in how many years to really push on and maintain that, and become a regular top four team and maybe push for a championship.

“We’re never going to get a better chance so now’s the time to have a go at doing that. So I still feel with two or three players it would make the difference and give us the squad we need. And if we get them in I think the sky’s the limit for us.”

I agree with Harry, our squad is there or there abouts, but I feel with 2 or 3 players of quality brought in and a few of the deadwood players shipped out that we would be a much better outfit next season. The only trouble is that time is running out, I think “Arry” put all of his eggs in one basket early on with Joe Cole, one thing he must not do is panic buy. When it comes to signings then we have the best man in the business, so we must remain positive and confident, Harry has only ever done us proud and to start doubting him not would be criminal.

2 weeks time we will find out who we play in the Champions League qualifying round, it would be nice if we could get 1 or 2 new faces in and settled for that fixture. Failure to qualify would turn us back into a laughing stock and the Gooner scum would never let us live it down. Harry must know the importance of this to our club and to the fans, I wouldn’t be surprised to see us sign someone within the next week.

It’s good to see Harry is aiming high, he wants to turn us into championship contenders, and why not, now is as good time as any. You have to admire the man for thinking so highly when you consider just over a year ago his aim was to keep us in the league, how times have changed. Can we ever be anything other than supportive towards Harry after what he has done for us, up untill now I would say no. I have said in previous blogs that this is our best chance ever to really push on and compete and I am glad Harry shares m opinion. Come 14th August come rain or shine, Aldo and myself will be at the Lane supporting our team and whatever the season brings. That is what makes being a Spurs fan the best in the world.

NY Red Bulls game live tomorrow night or friday morning 1 am, check the tab at the top, that’s where it will be come kick off time.

Now don’t go getting excited we haven’t signed anyone yet. What I want to talk about is something different, something that is always a great feeling. What I would like to see from this summer is one “surprise signing”. When I say this I mean what I want is for Spurs to go out and sign someone and totally suprise us all, someone we haven’t been linked with time and time again in the papers.

Remember when we signed Modric and Klinsmann plus i’m sure there were some others but you guys can tell me who on the comments below, but Modric and Klinsmann for example suprised most of us, we hadn’t been constantly linked to them in the papers everyday, it came out of the blue and caught us all off guard. I love that feeling.

All summer long we have been linked with Joe Cole, Micah Richards,Forlan,Bellamy and a few other names, so if we go and sign any of these players it doesn’t have the same feeling of that of a surprise signing. Still a good feeling when we sign any player but not the same. It makes it all the more special if we don’t even know an awful lot about the player we sign, a real sense of anticipation and eagerness to see them put on the Spurs shirt. So hopefully Harry has something up his sleeve and didn’t put all his eggs in one basket with Joe Cole. A nice surprise signing of a player we have yet to be linked with or don’t know much about is a feeling I love. Of course I can only speak for myself but I am sure I can’t be alone on this.

http://www.vimeo.com/11993840

I don’t think we need to do too much in the transfer window but one or two tweaks to make the squad stronger wouldn’t hurt. Ship out some of the players that will be eating up the wage budget by sitting on the bench and replace them with players that are happy to be part of a squad on the verge of Champions League qualification, players that know that in this day and age to be a big team you need to be squad players.